


Trine Leader

by regdog



Series: Trine Leader Series [1]
Category: Transformers - All Media Types
Genre: Abuse, Canon-Typical Violence, Gen, Seeker Trines, Seeker culture
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-21
Updated: 2018-04-21
Packaged: 2019-04-25 19:36:32
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,898
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14385678
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/regdog/pseuds/regdog
Summary: Ever since Megatron named Starscream, Elite Trine Leader and Air Commander, the flier has been unhinged and violent, leading to brutal punishments at the hands of the Warlord. The last punishment was one too many for Starscream's Trinemates.





	Trine Leader

**Author's Note:**

> Italics-Seeker Cant  
> :: :: Comm Speak
> 
> Credit to Gatekat for the Trine positions of Order, Action and Vision

Megatron stared at the image on the infrared video feed. Once again, Starscream was locked in the “Pit”, a barely Seeker sized room, with no windows or light. There wasn’t enough room for the Seeker to sit or move freely; the tips of Starscream’s wings grazing the walls with each movement. Megatron made sure Starscream was kept well energized, the Warlord wanted the mech fully aware of his confinement. Deep gouges littered the Air Commander. Dried and fresh energon creating a ghoulish image on the infrared feed, as it clung to the flight frame. Static rasped from the raw vocalizer of the imprisoned mech. 

Dispassionate and unconcerned, Megatron watched on. Once again his accursed Second had tried to offline him. This time, the psychotic Seeker nearly succeeded in his quest. Starscream had done as Megatron commanded and made alterations to Megatron’s prized fusion cannon to finally end Prime. Unknown to Megatron, his duplicitous Air Commander had added one unexpected addition to the upgrade; a spark sensor. 

Instead of hurling a blast of death at the Warlord’s enemy, Megatron’s fusion cannon had blown the explosive charge back at its owner, rending a near fatal wound the Decepticon leader. His chassis had been torn open, his spark, singed, and helm half melted. It took, Hook, Knockout and Shockwave and two decacycles of surgeries and recuperation time before Megatron onlined again. It was then Shockwave informed his Master of what he had found in his fusion cannon. 

As punishment, Megatron had dragged his hissing, spitting Second to the “Pit” and locked him in. It was now four decacycles to the day. 

“Thundercracker,” Megatron barked.

“Yes, Lord Megatron.”

“Go get that treasonous piece of slag, Trine leader of yours. No medical treatment, unless you or Skywarp feel like repairing him yourselves.”

“Yes, Lord Megatron,” the stoic blue Seeker replied.

A brief, barely unperceivable glint shimmered across the flier’s red optics, giving the Warlord pause.

“THUNDERCRACKER!” he barked.

“Yes, Lord Megatron?” Thundercracker neither flinched nor changed his tone.

The Lord of the Decepticons stared at the large Seeker. Thundercracker was the least bothersome of all the fliers. His stoic, dour demeanor made him almost a nonentity among the vitriolic faction. 

::Soundwave:: Megatron opened a comm link to his Communications Officer.

::Yes, Lord Megatron::

::What is Thundercracker thinking?::

::Nothing.::

::That is impossible.:: Megatron couldn’t believe it.

::My Lord, he is devoid of thought or emotion.::

::Is he blocking you?::

::No. He is apathetic. If it wasn’t for his spark pulse, I’d think him a drone.::

::Very well.::

Perhaps Thundercracker was as sick of his treasonous Trine leader as the rest of the Decepticons were. That was the most probable scenario.

“Go,” he said, with a dismissive wave.

Without another glance, Thundercracker left the Command Center. 

 

*********************************

 

_“Shh, you’re safe, my Love,”_ Thundercracker crooned in Seeker cant. 

____

__

_“We have you. You’ll be just fine,”_ Skywarp said, gently wiping a warm, wet cloth across Starscream’s tattered wing. 

Thundercracker had returned to their quarters, from the “Pit” with a barely coherent Starscream cradled is his arms; the smaller Seeker bleating broken static into the blue flier’s cockpit. Skywarp was waiting with energon, cleaning and medical supplies; the black and purple Trine member struggling to control the rage in his field. 

__

__

_“I’m going to put you in stasis so I can weld your wounds, Love,”_ TC said. 

____

____

Panicked, Starscream shook his head. He couldn’t be without them. All that kept him sane in the “Pit” was their constant loving presence in their Trine bond. Now that he could see them, touch them, Starscream didn’t want to lose that, not even for the relief of his pain.

_“You’ll be in my arms the whole time,” Skywarp added, “The Trine bond will remain wide open. You will never be without us.” ___

____

____

Loneliness, terror, desperation poured into the two from the tri-colored Seeker.

_“Okay, Love. Open your port, I’ll shut down your pain sensors. You just lean back into Skywarp.” ___

____

____

Starscream finally nodded and opened the medical port on the side of his neck. Thundercracker cabled in and shut down all pain sensors. No one among the Decepticons knew the three had the ability to do this with each other. Megatron actually thought when he denied Starscream proper medical care, his Trine mates did a hack job without pain management. Fool. 

They were Trine, they were each others’ very sparks, lives. They were not three, but one.

Starscream leaned back into Skywarp. His purple and black Trine mate, purring and humming soft Vosian lullabies the entire time Thundercracker worked. Each rip and tear cataloged, meticulously cleaned and welded. He only paused to remove one of Starscream’s own claw tips from a dorsal vent. 

Starscream watched Thundercracker, occasionally reaching out to touch his mate with one servo as the other clutched Skywarp. Finally as Thundercracker was finishing, Starscream’s ventilations slowed and his optic shutters closed in recharge.

“Megatron is a dead mech,” Skywarp whispered, venom lacing the softly spoken words.

Thundercracker looked at his volatile Trine mate. Skywarp was always the most loyal to Megatron, Starscream to the Decepticon cause, Thundercracker to his Trinemates.

“Do you trust me?” he finally asked.

“With our very existences.” Skywarp hugged Starscream closer. Deep in recharge the smaller Seeker sighed in his arms.

Content with the answer, Thundercracker nodded and motioned for Skywarp to lay Starscream on the berth. The two taking their place on either side of their suffering mate.

“We nearly lost him, TC. He’s slipping further away. He can’t keep this up.”

“I know, Warp. I know. Soundwave read me before I got Starscream.”

“And what did he discover?”

“Absolutely nothing.”

Skywarp grinned. Woe to anyone who underestimated Thundercracker. 

 

****************************

 

From the moment Megatron had named Starscream, Elite Trine Leader and Air Commander, the Seeker began to change. He became unbalanced and power hungry. Naming him Second in Command led to many of Megatron’s own troops landing in Medbay at his new Second’s fury. His unpredictable, volatile temperament made him a danger to everyone, Autobot and Decepticon. The only exemptions from Starscream’s savage attacks, were his Trinemates. 

Megatron had had enough. True, he couldn’t offline the wretch as much as he wanted to. Megatron may hate Starscream but he wasn’t about to kill one of his deadliest weapons. Unhinged though he may be, Starscream was a master of war and death on the battlefield and his aerial tactics unmatched. Still, it was about time his Second remembered who was the only Master of War in the Decepticon Army.

 

************************

 

The entire Decepticon Army was in the Nemesis’ launch bay. Megatron stood front and center on a dais, Shockwave to his right, Soundwave to his left. Last to enter was Starscream, flanked by Thundercracker and Skywarp. The Air Commander’s wings gave a twitch as he took in the assembled crowd and Shockwave’s position. A low rumble emanated from Thundercracker. The Trine approached the dais.

Starscream stepped forward. His wings held high, optical ridges arched in pure disdain.

“You summoned us, Mighty Megatron.”

“Yes, I have, Starscream. Your attempts on my life have become tiresome---“

“Really? I thought the last one was spectacular,” the Seeker interrupted, goading his leader.

Megatron growled and stepped forward, grabbing Starscream by the neck. “Your insolence is tiring and I will not stand for it. If it wasn’t for your usefulness on the battlefield, I’d tear your spark out and present it to your Trinemates. Slag knows how tired of you they must be.”

Too wound up in his rant, Megatron did not see the look exchanged between the two Seekers he had just spoken of. 

“However, you serve a purpose and as long as you do, you live, but know this. You are stripped of your rank as my Second. Shockwave now holds that title.” He gripped Starscream’s neck tighter, but still the Seeker, refused to beg for mercy or release. “In addition, you are stripped of the title of Air Commander, and Elite Trine leader. You are now nothing but a mere solider in this army. Thundercracker is now Elite Trine leader and Air Commander.” 

It was then Starscream finally reacted, his entire frame began shaking, his plating rattled. His shallow breaths became gasping sobs as he seized up. Megatron dropped the struggling mech. 

“Pathetic,” he sneered.

“It’s finally over,” Starscream sobbed.

“Take him,” was all Thundercracker said. Skywarp and Starscream disappeared in a swirl of purple and black.

An animalistic roar came from Thundercracker a klik before he unleashed his sonic weapon. Megatron, Shockwave and Soundwave staggered, but did not go down. Two more successive sonic blasts dropped them. Their plating cracking, gyros destabilized, optics lens cracked as their vision fritzed. Being in such close range, the rest of the Decepticon Army fared no better. The smaller mechs were knocked offline, while the larger ones, in a similar state as their leaders.

“Return.” In a flash Skywarp and Starscream were back. Skywarp, with murderous glee in his optics, Starscream still shuddering.

“You did this to him,” Thundercracker hissed, claws extending as he raked Megatron across the face. “You know nothing of Seekers or Trine. Starscream is no Trine leader. He is our Vision. I AM THE ORDER. I AM TRINE LEADER. 

“ You violated our ways. You violated our culture, our coding and almost destroyed our Vision.” With each word Thundecracker tore and savaged their leader, rending huge chunks out of the thick armor. Rage gave him strength and his words booming volume. He ripped Megatron’s fusion cannon off, beating the hapless mech with it. He then removed the arm it had been attached to.

“Starscream tried to tell you and you beat him for it. He is our Vision. Making him Trine leader almost broke him, his coding, his processor. Making him Trine Leader almost drove him insane. Why do you think he acted as he did? He has been fighting his Vision coding for millennia, because of you and your ignorance.

“He is not a leader. He is our cherished one,” Thundercracker raged, tearing Megatron’s main energon line into pieces. “And now I will present him with your empty spark chamber.”

Megatron, his energon and life draining, was powerless to stop Thundercracker ripping his broken chassis open and tearing out the spark chamber. 

“For your pain, Love.” He handed it to Starscream who trilled his acceptance. Skywarp screeched, arms still securely around Starscream.

Thundercracker stalked up to Shockwave, the mech getting shakily to his pedes. The Seeker pulled a laser sword from his subspace and sliced Shockwave’s helm clean off. “I never liked you,” he said, then cut the mech’s chestplating open and removed the guttering spark.

Approaching Soundwave, Thundercracker paused, tip of the laser sword resting on Soundwave’s main energon line. “I may grant you leniency, you have your symbiotes to care for. Do you yield to me, or do you want to join them?” he motioned to the lifeless, grey shells.

“All hail Thundercracker, Lord of the Decepticons,” Soundwave said, getting to his knees and bowing in supplication. His symbiotes all copying their host.

“Never give me one klik of pause to think you don’t mean those words.”

Turning to face the rest of the Decepticons, Thundercracker screeched a deafening war cry. “I lead this Army. I lead this Trine. Never forget that,” Thundercracker said, wings flared, claws and sword dripping energon.

The assembled mass of energon leaking, wounded mechs scrambled to bow to their new leader.

**Author's Note:**

> Unbetaed-If you see any mistakes, please feel free to point them out to me. Thank you


End file.
